Emerging or alternative crops are those that have been recently introduced in response to new demands and commercial opportunities. The fig has been introduced as an alternative fruit crop in Mexico due to its high nutritional, nutraceutical, and antioxidant capacity. A total of 644 points of presence were downloaded and filtered according to climatic ranges and agricultural areas, leaving 68 records. The MaxEnt algorithm was used to develop the habitat suitability models for current and future climate. The bioclimatic variables of the global circulation models, Hadley Centre Global Environment Model version 2-EarthSystem (HADGEM2-ES) and Max Planck Institute for Meteorology-Earth System Model Low Resolution (MPI-ESM-LR), were used under scenarios 2.6 and 8.5. The changes in the fig area for Mexico were analyzed based on the generated models. Under the current climate, 359,575.76 km² were estimated for 2050, and a loss of area for the excellent category was estimated for both models and scenarios; however, for the MPI-ESM-LR model projected to 2070, an increase of 5.51% and 0.39% was estimated for scenarios 2.6 and 8.5, respectively. The effect of climate change on agronomic species such as figs will be expressed in variations in climatic ranges and areas suitable for their development. The results of this study reveal the negative and positive effects of climate change on fig habitat suitability in Mexico. The dynamics of changes in surface area will be reflected mainly in northern and central Mexico. Full article

Oxidative stress is a condition in dairy cows characterized by an imbalance of prooxidants and antioxidants, abnormally high levels of free radicals, or a decline in antioxidant defense mechanisms. Moreover, dairy cows are more inclined to oxidative stress status, which causes damage to the body and DNA damage resulting in a decline in antioxidant potential. Anthocyanins are effective antioxidants and free radical scavengers derived from fruit, purple corn, and other purple plants in nature. Many studies have shown that anthocyanins have favorable antioxidation effects in dairy cows and prevent lipid oxidation to improve milk quality. Accordingly, in the present paper, we mainly review (1) the definition of anthocyanins and the possible absorption and metabolic pathways; (2) the effect of anthocyanins on rumen fermentation parameters and methane production; (3) the mechanism by which anthocyanins enhance antioxidant potential and alleviate oxidative stress by scavenging free radicals and regulating signalling pathways; and (4) the effect of anthocyanins on milk production and milk lipid oxidation in dairy cows. This paper may provide an important rationale for the modulation of dairy cow health and productivity by anthocyanins in the future. Full article

Bacuri (Platonia insignis) is a monotype belonging to the Clusiaceae family. Of Amazonian origin, it is highly appreciated for fresh consumption, mainly due to its peculiar sensory characteristics. It is also widely used in the food industry, mainly in pulp (endocarp), used in the manufacture of beverages, jellies, and ice cream. Although the use of pulp is well established in the food sector, recently, research has turned attention to the use of other parts of the fruit and plant, especially in the therapeutics, cosmetics, and fuel sectors. Its bioactive components have been investigated for having important antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, hypotensive, cardioprotective, antiepileptic, antileishmanial, and antifungal activities, among others, mainly attributed to the presence of compounds such as xanthones, terpenes, phenolics, and fatty acids. Thus, this study aimed to gather data on the species Platonia insignis Mart. through an integrative review of the agronomic, nutritional, physical–chemical characteristics and a technological prospection about its applications. The study showed that in the last ten years there has been a significant increase in the number of patents deposited, with the prospect that with the advancement of studies on their properties, results for application in the most diverse areas will prove increasingly viable and promising. Full article

The focus of world governance on climate change has been on the industrial and transport sectors, yet the agricultural sector produces a lot of greenhouse gases, and this has always been ignored. This paper focuses on China, one of the world’s largest agricultural countries, and it investigates its agriculture carbon emission from a new perspective of the internal structure of it, which is relatively under-researched. Carbon metrology, the emission factor method and kernel density estimations are used to analyze China’s agricultural carbon emissions structure and its regional differences and its dynamic evolution characteristics. We find that: (1) China’s total amount of agricultural carbon emissions showed a ladder-like upward trend, but the growth rate of it has gradually slowed down; the inter-provincial heterogeneity of the agricultural carbon emissions was obvious. (2) From the standpoint of the grain functional areas, the annual total amount of agricultural carbon emissions and the amount of carbon emissions of each carbon source in the major grain producing areas were significantly higher than those in the major grain sales areas and the production–sales balance areas, and the carbon emission intensity in the major grain producing areas was the lowest overall. (3) In regard to the internal structure, China’s agricultural carbon emissions mainly came from the livestock and poultry, rice planting and agricultural energy sectors; the proportion of carbon emissions that were caused by the agricultural materials, agricultural energy and soil increased in general, and the inter-provincial differences between them expanded, while the inter-provincial differences between livestock and poultry gradually decreased. The proportion of carbon emissions from the six major agricultural carbon sources showed a convergence trend, and their kernel density had a right tail phenomenon. Our research deepens the understanding of China’s agricultural carbon emission structure, contributes to the rational optimization of the agricultural structure, and helps the agriculture sector and the rural areas to reach the carbon peak. Full article

Nowadays, China’s food consumption structure is shifting from being survival-oriented to health-oriented. However, the food industry is still facing a research and development (R&D) dilemma. Scientific evaluation of an enterprise’s R&D performance can help to reduce the investment risk of R&D and promote economic benefits. This study implements the dynamic data envelopment analysis (DDEA) technique to measure and evaluate the level of R&D performance in the Chinese food manufacturing industry. Twenty-eight listed companies were selected for the study, considering the time period from 2019 to 2021. After constructing a system of inputs, outputs and carry-over indicators, overall and period efficiency scores were obtained. The results reveal that the overall level of R&D in the industry is relatively low (0.332). Average efficiency scores across years were estimated as 0.447, 0.460, 0.430 for 2019, 2020, and 2021, respectively. Lastly, this study considers the actual business situation of the industry and makes suggestions for improvement from the perspective of enterprises and the government; these anticipate aiding the food manufacturing industry to improve the performance management of R&D activities. Full article

Dynamic changes have taken place in the production of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) in Poland over the last 20 years. New cultivars with both early- and late-ripening dates have appeared, and modern high-intensity cultivation techniques are being implemented. The main attribute of the fruit, in addition to its unique taste, is its health-promoting properties. In this research, which was conducted at the Warsaw University of Life Sciences in 2021, our main objectives were to evaluate seven selected Czech cherry cultivars (‘Jacinta’; ‘Horka’; ‘Tamara’; ‘Helga’; ‘Fabiola’; ‘Kasandra’; ‘Kordia’) with regard to their dessert quality and contents of biologically active compounds, and to indicate the most valuable cultivar under the conditions of central Poland. The cultivars tested differed in both the fruit quality and health-promoting properties. ‘Jacinta’, ‘Horka’, Tamara’ and ‘Fabiola’ had the largest fruits. The ‘Fabiola’ and ‘Kordia’ fruits had the highest firmness, while the ‘Jacinta’ and ‘Horka’ fruits had the highest soluble solid contents (SSCs) and titratable acidities (TAs). We found the highest SSC-to-TA ratio in the ‘Fabiola’ cultivar. ‘Jacinta’ proved to be the most valuable cultivar in terms of bioactive compounds, and it had the highest antioxidant activity (DPPH). Some of the traits were closely correlated with each other, mainly in relation to the biologically active compounds. Darker fruits contained more bioactive compounds and had a higher antioxidant activity. It was also proved that size of fruits as well as SSC and TA are also correlated with fruit color. Intensively colored fruit are larger and have higher SSC and TA. In sweet cherry fruit, the contents of polyphenols and flavonoids, as well as the high DPPH, are strongly determined by the high content of cyanidin-3-galactoside. Full article

Narrowing the rural–urban income gap is an important challenge in achieving sustained and stable economic and social development in China. The present study investigates the role of farmers’ education and agricultural productivity growth in influencing the rural–urban income gap by applying mediation, interaction, and quantile regression models to provincial panel data of China from 2003 to 2017. Results show that, first of all, China’s agricultural productivity (TFP) continues to improve, and it is mainly driven by technical change (TC), with no significant role of technical efficiency change (TEC) or stable scale change (SC). Improving farmers’ education not only directly narrows the rural–urban income gap but also indirectly improves agricultural productivity to further narrow the rural–urban income gap. Due to differences in income sources of farmers, the corresponding impacts of farmers’ education and agricultural productivity growth on the rural–urban income gap also differ. Policy recommendations include continued investments in farmers’ education and training as well as modernization of agricultural for higher productivity growth. Full article

The national-scale evaluation and modeling of the impact of agricultural management and climate change on soils, crop growth, and the environment require soil information at a spatial resolution addressing individual agricultural fields. This manuscript presents a data science approach that agglomerates the soil parameter space into a limited number of functional soil process units (SPUs) that may be used to run agricultural process models. In fact, two unsupervised classification methods were developed to generate a multivariate 3D data product consisting of SPUs, each being defined by a multivariate parameter distribution along the depth profile from 0 to 100 cm. The two methods account for differences in variable types and distributions and involve genetic algorithm optimization to identify those SPUs with the lowest internal variability and maximum inter-unit difference with regards to both their soil characteristics and landscape setting. The high potential of the methods was demonstrated by applying them to the agricultural German soil landscape. The resulting data product consists of 20 SPUs. It has a 100 m raster resolution in the 2D mapping space, and its resolution along the depth profile is 1 cm. It includes the soil properties texture, stone content, bulk density, hydromorphic properties, total organic carbon content, and pH. Full article

The response of different plant growth regulators on callus induction and regeneration on three sugarcane genotypes (YT-53, CP-77-400, and NSG-59) was evaluated. Different concentrations of 2,4-D alone and in combination with other plant growth regulators (Kinetin and BAP) were used for callus induction. Kinetin along with IBA, BAP and NAA were analyzed with respect to shoot induction, while NAA and IBA were used for root induction. The best callus response in terms of number of days, callus fresh weight, and frequency in YT-53 was observed on MS media provided with 2,4-D (3 mg L⁻¹) + Kinetin (0.5 mg L⁻¹), while in NSG-59 the best response was on MS+2,4-D (4 mg L⁻¹) + Kinetin (0.5 mg L⁻¹), and in CP-77400, MS+2,4-D (5 mg L⁻¹). For shoot induction, 2 mg L⁻¹ Kinetin was found to be the best for YT-53 and NSG-59, while 1 mg L⁻¹ BAP was found to be the best for CP-77-400 in terms of number of days, shoot numbers, and shoot length. The best media for root induction in terms of number of days, root numbers, and root length was 1 mg L⁻¹ NAA + 1 mg L⁻¹ IBA for YT-53, while this was 3 mg L⁻¹ NAA for NSG-59. The highest root frequency and maximum root length in the minimum number of days was observed in CP-77-400 on MS media provided with 2 mg L⁻¹ NAA. Full article

Precision poultry farming technologies include the analysis of images of poultry flocks using cameras. In large-scale waterfowl farming, these can be used to determine the individual weight of poultry flocks. In our research in a real farming environment, we investigated the cameras fixed to the metal support structure of the barn, located above the suspended bird scales. Camera images of the bird on the weighing cell, taken from a top view, were matched to the weight data measured by the scale. The algorithm was trained on training data sets from a part of the database, and the results were validated with the other part of the database (Training: 60% Validation: 20% Testing: 20%). Three data science models were compared, and the random forest method achieved the highest accuracy and reliability. Our results show that the random forest method gave the most reliable results for determining the individual weights of birds. We found that the housing environment had a strong influence on the applicability of the data collection and processing technology. We have presented that by analyzing carefully collected images, it is possible to determine the individual weights of birds and thus provide valuable information on it. Full article

In the world, red beetroot is regarded as one of the most important vegetables due to its valuable nutritional features; however, the industrial processing of beetroot produces large amounts of waste, such as skin, which could be a relevant source of bioactive compounds, minerals, fiber, and so on. In this study, the variations in the proximate composition, mineral element amounts, and some antioxidants in the skin and flesh of beetroot genotypes grown in Lithuania were appraised. Proximate compositions (total soluble solids, dry matter, fiber, protein, ash, and total sugars), amounts of some minerals (N, P, Ca, Mg, K, Fe, Zn, Cu, B, and Mn), total phenolics, and total anthocyanins and betalains were determined. The results revealed that proximate composition, minerals, total phenolics, and total anthocyanins and betalains depends on the root part and genotype of the beetroot. All investigated beetroot skin samples have significantly greater amounts of protein, dry matter ash, fiber, total sugars, minerals (except K), total phenolics, and total anthocyanins and betalains than the flesh. ‘Alto F1’ skins had the highest amounts of protein, fiber, ash, Na, Mg, and Zn. ‘Kosak’ skins contained the greatest amounts of dry matter, total sugars, K, P, Ca, Fe, Mn, and total anthocyanins and betalains. It can be concluded that the tested beetroot skins (especially ‘Alto F1’ and ‘Kosak’), due to their valuable nutritional compositions, can be used as a source of natural supplements that can enrich the quality of various food products or be used for the manufacture of functional food. Full article

Selecting the appropriate tyre configuration and settings for heavy farm vehicles is important to ensure that soil compaction and power loss in rolling resistance are minimised and traction is optimised. This study investigated the effect of front-wheel assist (FWA, ≈75 kN) and four-wheel drive (4 WD, ≈100 kN) tractors fitted with different tyre configurations (single, dual), tyre sizes and inflation pressures on soil strength (a proxy for soil compaction), and rolling resistance. Single-pass tests were performed on a Typic Argiudoll (≈23% clay, bulk density: 1305 kg m⁻³) managed under permanent no-tillage. Results showed that average power losses in rolling resistance were 7.5 kN and 5 kN for the 4 WD and FWA tractors, respectively. The average rut depth increased by approximately 1.4 times after a pass of the 4 WD compared with the FWA tractor. The soil cone index (0–600 mm depth) increased from 2023 kPa (before traffic) to 2188 and 2435 kPa after single passes of the FWA and 4WD tractors, respectively (p < 0.05). At the centreline of the tyre rut, dual tyres reduced the soil cone index a little compared with single tyres, but they significantly increased the volume of soil over which soil strength, and therefore soil compaction, was increased. For both tractors (regardless of tyre configuration or settings), soil strength increased to the full measured depth (600 mm), but relative changes before vs. after traffic became progressively smaller with increased soil depth. The power loss in rolling resistance was consistently greater with the heavier tractor, and rut depth was directly related to tyre inflation pressure. Full article

Climate change is negatively affecting agricultural production in the Sahel region. Climate-Smart Agricultural Technologies (CSATs) are disseminated to reduce these negative effects, and particularly those on resource-poor farm households. This article investigates the distributional impacts of the adoption of CSAT on-farm households’ welfare using a dataset that covers four regions, 32 communes, 320 villages, and 2240 households in Mali. Using an instrumental variable quantile treatment effects model, the paper addresses the potential endogeneity arising from the selection bias and the heterogeneity of the effect across the quantiles of the outcome variables’ distribution. The results show that the adoption of CSAT is positively associated with improved households’ welfare. The farmers’ decision to adopt any CSAT is influenced by access to credit, contact with extension agents, participation in training, access to information through the television, and being a member of any organization such as a cooperative society. Moreover, the effect of the adoption of CSAT on household welfare varies across the different households. In particular, the results show that the impact of the adoption of CSAT on households’ welfare is generally higher for the poorest (farmers located at the bottom tail of the distribution) end of the welfare distribution. The findings, therefore, highlight the pro-poor impact of the adoption of CSAT in the rural Malian context, as well as the need to tailor the CSAT interventions toward specific socio-economic segments of the rural population in Mali. Full article

Conservation of plant genetic resources, especially threatened species, is an important topic in biodiversity. It is a field that requires prior knowledge of the target species, in addition to correct identification and taxonomic description. In botany, the identification of plant species traditionally relies on key morphological descriptions and anatomical features. However, in complex species and tree plants, molecular identification can facilitate identification and increase species delimitation accuracy. In the Faifa mountains of Jazan province in Saudi Arabia, 12 rarely occurring plants were recorded and identified using two DNA barcoding regions (i.e., rbcL and ITS). All the samples were successfully amplified, sequenced, and analyzed using the standard DNA barcode protocol, and this resulted in the clear and accurate identification of 11 out of the 12 sampled species. A total of five species were in agreement in terms of both morpho- and molecular-based identification. Four and two species were identified based solely on ITS and rbcL phylogenetics, respectively. The geographic distribution records of the identified species showed that some species were distributed at a distance far from their usual region, while others were reported in proximate regions and localities. Some species were found to be medicinally important and required additional conservation plans. Full article

The primary considerations in rice (Oryza sativa L.) production evoke improvements in the nutritional quality as well as production. Rice cultivars need to be developed to tackle hunger globally with high yield and better nutrition. The traditional cultivation methods of rice to increase the production by use of non-judicious fertilizers to fulfill the nutritional requirement of the masses. This article provokes nutritional strategies by utilization of available omics techniques to increase the nutritional profiling of rice. Recent scientific advancements in genetic resources provide many approaches for better understanding the molecular mechanisms encircled in a specific trait for its up- or down-regulation for opening new horizons for marker-assisted breeding of new rice varieties. In this perspective, genome-wide association studies, genome selection (GS) and QTL mapping are all genetic analysis that help in precise augmentation of specific nutritional enrichment in rice grain. Implementation of several omics techniques are effective approaches to enhance and regulate the nutritional quality of rice cultivars. Advancements in different types of omics including genomics and pangenomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics, nutrigenomics and proteomics are also relevant to rice development initiatives. This review article compiles genes, locus, mutants and for rice yield and yield attribute enhancement. This knowledge will be useful for now and for the future regarding rice studies. Full article